Hulk (Marvel)
|origin = The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) |occupation = |skills = |hobby = Smashing things. Beating villains up. |goals = Save Betty Ross and defeat his enemies. |family = |friends = |enemies = Abomination, Leader, Red Skull, Doctor Doom, General Ross, Loki, Maestro, Ultron, Thanos, Brian Banner, Black Swan, Skrulls, Thing (formerly), Albert Wesker, Red King, M. Bison, |type of hero = Wrathful Berserker |size = 200 }} Robert Bruce Banner/The Hulk is a superhero from Marvel Comics who transformed from a man to a dangerous creature of rage and destruction. Hulk has a human side and this separates him from the more monstrous opponents such as Abomination or the Leader - Hulk is often confused and alone in the world and wants to be left alone yet is forever hounded by heroes and villains alike, this forces Hulk to fight and this only serves to make him angrier and stronger. Under the monstrous exterior and rampaging Hulk has a gentle side, especially towards Betty - the one woman he truly loves and one of the few friends Hulk truly trusts. Hulk began life as Bruce Banner and suffered an abusive childhood at the hands of his cruel father, who murdered his mother in front of his eyes and bullied him into silence under threats that he would go to Hell if he did. Although Bruce managed to escape his father and grow to become a world expert on gamma-radiation his past never truly left and when he was caught up in a freak accident his inner-anxieties gave birth to the Hulk, a creature born of Bruce's rage at the world, yet despite its naturally aggressive nature Hulk often showed restrained (at least by his standards) - suggesting that Bruce had some limited control over the being - though as Hulk became more angered his actions became ever more hard to control. Bruce would come to see the Hulk as a monster and indeed most of the world viewed him that way to but in reality Hulk was misunderstood, wishing to be left alone and willing to defend the world from truly monstrous opponents despite his mistreatment. In at least on future, known as Future Imperfect, Hulk is shown to have ultimately lost his battle for humanity and devolved into the dictator known as Maestro - however present Hulk rejected this future and claims he can make things right.. whether Hulk can achieve this or not is unknown but the "Green Giant" has never been one to back away from a fight - especially if the cause is just. Hulk was created by the late Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby. Bruce Banner and the Hulk have been adapted in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations. The character was first played in a live-action feature film by Eric Bana. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Banner was portrayed by Edward Norton in the film The Incredible Hulk (2008) and by Mark Ruffalo in the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. History Early Years Robert Bruce Banner is the son of Dr. Brian Banner, an atomic physicist, and his wife Rebecca. Although Rebecca deeply loved Bruce, who returned her affection, Brian hated their child. An alcoholic, and very, very angry man, Brian was driven by an insane jealousy of Bruce for being an object of Rebecca's love. Further, Brian believed that his radiation work had altered his DNA and given him a mutant son. Brian then abused Bruce and finally murdered Rebecca, then was placed in a mental hospital. After that, Bruce was raised by his aunt and father's sister, Susan Banner, who understood his great pain and rage over his childhood sufferings thanks to his crazed father, and raised him with love and care as if he were her own child. Bruce, grew up from then on as a highly withdrawn, intellectually gifted youth, in fact, a child prodigy. After graduating from Science High School, Bruce studied nuclear physics in Navajo, New Mexico, at Desert State University as the star student of Professor Herbert Josiah Weller. He also studied for a time at Pennsylvania State University, where he met Walter Langkowski. He obtained his doctorate in nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology, alongside Philip Sterns. Eventually, as an adult and a genius in nuclear physics, Banner wished to pursue philanthropic brands of science, but couldn't receive any financial funding for his projects, and thus in lack of other options, went to work at a United States Defense Department nuclear research facility at Desert Base, New Mexico. There Banner met General Thaddeus Ross, the Air Force officer in command of the base, and his daughter Betty Ross. Banner and Betty eventually fell in love with each other. Banner designed and oversaw construction of the "Gamma Bomb" or "G-bomb," a nuclear weapon possessing a high gamma radiation output. The Hulk Banner was present in the instrumentation bunker at the test site for the first underground test detonation of the Gamma Bomb. Observing that a civilian had breached security and entered the restricted test area, Banner told his colleague Igor Starsky to delay the countdown while he tried to escort the civilian to safety. Starsky, secretly a Soviet agent, did nothing, confident that Banner would die in the explosion, bringing the project to a halt. Reaching the civilian, a teenager named Rick Jones, Banner threw him into a protective trench. Before Banner could get himself to safety, the Gamma Bomb detonated, and intense waves of radiation reached the surface. Banner was irradiated with highly charged radioactive particles. Due to an unknown genetic factor in his body, Banner was not killed by the radiation, which instead caused him to frequently transform into the vastly powerful, green-skinned, humanoid monster named "the Hulk". At first Banner changed into the Hulk at sunset and reverted to human form at dawn. However, Banner's body eventually changed so that his transformations into Hulk were triggered by the release of adrenaline when he became intensely excited, no matter what time of day or night it was. Usually the Hulk possessed little of Banner's memory and intelligence and was easily enraged. While the military attempted to contain Hulk, he thwarted their every attempt, with Rick Jones, feeling responsible for Banner becoming the Hulk, trying to help keep him away from the military. Hulk ultimately thwarted an attempt to destroy America by the Gargoyle, another being mutated by gamma radiation. Hulk changed back into Banner and help cure the Gargoyle, who helped Banner escape back to the U.S., where, with the help of Rick Jones, he maintained his identity as the Hulk a secret and attempted to keep the Hulk contained at night. Early Adventures When Bruce next turned into the Hulk, his skin was green, a skin tone that remained the most constant for the Hulk. Banner became a target of the so-called Toad Men, who sought to invade Earth. Although at first their attempts to exploit Banner's intelligence made him appear to be a traitor to his country, Banner was able to use his might as Hulk to thwart the Toad Men's invasion and cleared his name. In an effort to control his transformations, Banner began using a Gamma Ray Projector to force transformations into Hulk and Banner vice-versa, however his Hulk persona was reluctant to transform back into Banner. After the Hulk was shot into space and passing through a radiation storm Rick Jones briefly found himself able to control him. They worked together to stop the Circus of Crime. Jones' control over the Hulk faded away. Hulk's transformations were not limited to nightfall after this adventure. Hulk next foiled a hoax perpetrated by the Russian agent Boris Monguski aimed at trying to learn the secrets of the Hulk's strength, saved Betty from the underground ruler Tyrannus, and battled the Chinese General Fang. When Gamma Base was the subject to sabotage, Hulk was blamed and the Fantastic Four were called in to deal with him. This led to the first of many clashes between Hulk and the Fantastic Four's Thing. In the aftermath, the scientist Karl Kort was ultimately held responsible. Shortly thereafter, Hulk prevented Metal Master from invading Earth. The Avengers Hulk became a pawn of Loki who tricked Hulk into battling his half-brother, Thor. This plot was foiled, leading to Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp joining forces to form the Avengers and defeat Loki. Hulk was a founding member of the group and together they clashed with Dr. Doom. The group's mistrust in him became apparent when they were manipulated by the Space Phantom, prompting Hulk to quit. The Avengers began hunting down their unpredictable former ally. Hulk found an ally in the Sub-Mariner, and clashed with the heroes, Thor in particular, but Hulk was defeated and disappeared in the water. Hulk soon resurfaced in New York City seeking revenge against the Avengers, clashing with them as well as the Fantastic Four, leading to a rematch with Thing. The battle ended with Hulk being swept away in the New York harbor. Hulk resurfaced back in New Mexico where he was tricked by the Avengers into aiding them in preventing the Lava Men's attempt to eradicate human life on Earth's surface. While hiding out in a cave near Hollywood, Hulk was disturbed when the Green Goblin's plot to use the Enforcers to kill Spider-Man encroached into his hiding spot, leading to a brief clash between Hulk and Spider-Man before Hulk fled the scene. Later, Hulk was manipulated into battling his former Avengers comrades Giant-Man and Wasp by their foe the Human Top. Powers and Abilities *'Unlimited Strength:' The Hulk's most prominent power is his unlimited strength, which grows with his level of adrenalin (or in his own broken English, "Madder Hulk get, Stronger Hulk get!"), helping accompish feats such as lifting an entire mountain, tearing through walls of battleship steel, suport the weight of a dying star, and hold the block hole while recuse himself and his friends from getting sucked into the block hole. *'Dynamic Durability:' He also has a moderate form of invulnerability, being able to chuckle at high caliber bullets hitting his light green flesh. *'Absolute Stamina:' Due to Hulk's empowerment anger, his stamina can increase to endless level, though when calm, he able to exert himself at peak capacity for weeks before tiring. He shown to swim across the Pacific Ocean for a whole week without rest. *'Regenerative Healing Factor:' Despite his invulnerability, it is possible to injure the Hulk. His body has a regenerative healing process that patches him up at lightning speed. *'Superhuman Leaping:' His super strong leg muscles not only allow him to run at incredible speeds, but also travel long distances by jumping through the air. *'Superhuman Speed:' Hulk can run at incredible speeds. He also has uncanny reflexes that contridict his massive size. *'Telepathic Immunity:' The Hulk has shown to be able to resist telepathic assaults, and can see astral forms. Incarnations Bruce Banner - Bruce Banner is the emotionally repressed core personality, possessed of genius intellect. Banner can transform into the different versions of the Hulk, whereas his alter egos are only to transform into Bruce Banner. Savage Hulk - The Savage, or more accurately described, "Childlike" Hulk is the most common incarnation of the Hulk, though it possesses the mental capacity and temperament of a young child and typically refers to himself in the third person. The Savage Hulk is the reflection of Bruce's childhood as the young child abused by his father, which is the source of extreme rage and resentment from which his dynamic strength is derived. However, he is naive, innocent, and kind. He often claims that he wants to be left alone, but this is because he is constantly attacked without the capacity to understand why. He really wants to be liked and is very loyal to his friends. The Savage Hulk is usually depicted as green-skinned and heavily-muscled with a loping, ape-like gait. While in a functionally calm emotional state, or at least as calm as the Hulk can be, the Savage Hulk is stronger than the Gray Hulk. While angry, he has the potential for limitless strength. Gray Hulk / Joe Fixit - The Gray Hulk worked for a time as a Las Vegas enforcer called "Joe Fixit." The Gray Hulk has average intelligence, although he occasionally displays knowledge and intellectual ability normally associated with Banner. He is cunning, crafty, hedonistic, arrogant, and distant, with a hidden conscience; various psychological assessments of the Hulks have identified this Hulk as the personification of the moody teenager that Banner never allowed himself to be. In most of his Las Vegas appearances, he appears only at night. According to the Leader, the Gray Hulk persona is strongest during the night of the new moon and weakest during the full moon. This aversion to sun/moon light vanished when the Gray Hulk's night-induced transformation trigger was later removed. Although he is the smallest and weakest of the Hulks, the Gray Hulk towers over the average human. He prefers to dress in tailored suits. The Joe Fixit's base strength level is also the lowest of the three primary Hulk incarnations. Gravage Hulk / Post-Heroes Return Hulk - The Gravage Hulk is a merger of the Savage and Gray Hulk personas. It was caused when Banner tried to have control over the Hulk's personality after using his Gamma Projector, but the experiment didn't fully worked and, while this Hulk possessed part of Banner's scientist knowledge, the Hulk still referred to Banner as a separate person. This Hulk persona displayed the cunning intellect of the Gray Hulk and the raw power of the Savage Hulk. He did not have the ability to grow stronger with his rage, but instead drew upon dimensional nexus energies to gradually increase his base level. Merged Hulk/"The Professor" - The Merged Hulk was the merger of the personalities of Banner and the Savage and Gray Hulks. The Merged Hulk was far more well-adjusted than most incarnations, as well as an associate and leader of the team of superheroic philanthropists called the Pantheon. Despite his exaggerated musculature, the Merged Hulk had a relatively normal looking face, resembling that of Banner. The Merged Hulk is the largest of the three primary Hulk incarnations and he also possesses a higher base strength level. While in a calm emotional state, the Merged Hulk is stronger than the Savage Hulk in a calm state. However, unlike the other incarnations of the Hulk, Bruce Banner subconsciously installed a type of safeguard within this incarnation. Although in the beginning he was stated to get stronger with his rage, when the Merged Hulk's anger reaches a berserk level, he will transform back into Bruce Banner, though with the mind and personality of the Savage Hulk. From this point, he was stated to turn weaker as he got angrier. It is unknown if he would currently have this limitation or not. For a while the Merged Hulk was renamed "The Professor," and instead claimed to be Banner's good side, or ideal self, as a personality created by Doc Samson. The Green Scar - The Hulk of World War Hulk is a cunning and more powerful version than the previous incarnations, for he is the enraged version of the "Gravage Hulk." This incarnation has extremely high durability, shrugging off attacks that have hurt his other incarnations. He has had training in combat arms, including broadswords, spears, and battle shields, and is a capable leader and strategist. Another source of the Green Scar's strength in comparison to other versions was his lack of inner conflict, if not alliance, with Bruce Banner. There were several instances where the Hulk and Banner worked together strategically, such as acting to disable Dr Strange. Caiera, the Green Scar's wife, understood Banner as well, and both personalities loved her equally. This was the driving factor in the Banner/Hulk alliance. As a result of being caught in the explosion of the warp core of his ship which brought him to Sakaar, which destroyed the planet, the Green Scar's base level of strength was dramatically increased. While in a calm emotional state, he is the strongest primary incarnation. The Green Scar reached a new level of anger at the end of World War Hulk, after his fellow Warbound Miek attempted to provoke him to destroy the world. At this level, he started to release huge amounts of gamma energy from within his body, devastating New York, and causing quakes across North America. It would have taken but a couple of footsteps from the Hulk to completely destroy the eastern seaboard. If he had not let himself be stopped, then he definitely would have lived up to his "Worldbreaker" title, and would have completely destroyed the Earth. After World War Hulk, Banner suppressed the Green Scar, preventing him from surfacing though he momentarily reappeared in battle with the Hulk's son Skaar, still identifying himself as the "Worldbreaker. He seems to have resurfaced after Bruce regained his Hulk powers, his anger tempered from its "Worldbreaker" levels by another confrontation with Skaar, and was proven even strong enough to take down the Red Hulk without much of a fight despite the Red Hulk continuously absorbing the Hulk's radiation to empower himself. The Hulk lived up to his "Worldbreaker" title by destroying a world (from a direct collision with the Red She-Hulk) in the Dark Dimension.Indeed the Hulk even caused in a recurring cycle such a complete devastation of the Dark Dimension itself, that it aroused Umar's attention and forced her to banish the Hulk from her domain. Immortal/Devil Hulk - This variation of the Hulk persona originated as a response to the trauma of Bruce's several consecutive deaths and rebirths. He is extremely articulate, smart and cunning. For the most part, he acts in response to people that cause harm to others, and dispenses judgment on them mercilessly. Unlike previous Hulks, he is content to wait inside Bruce, possessing a measure of power over Banner previous Hulks didn't have. When Banner is in control, the Hulk manifests as a gut feeling that guides him through to his objectives. In addition to the Hulk's transformation period being limited to nighttime, Bruce can't transform whenever he wants, or even at the first sign of trouble. The Hulk always manifests when Bruce is fatally injured, but only once the sun is down. Like every Hulk incarnation, the Devil Hulk possessed enormous strength but is proportionately stronger than ever. Examples of his strength include giving Thor a skull fracture following up a severe concussion that left him out of the fight, sending She-Hulk flying for at least two miles in a single blow, tearing apart the latest Hulkbuster Armor devised by Iron Man, and overload Black Panther's vibranium-based Panther Habit; which was thought to be impossible, all while possessed by the One Below All. The Devil Hulk also has incredible regenerative power. He quickly healed a large hole blown through his torso, as well as put his body back together after it was sliced into pieces while possessed by the One Below All. In order for a part of his body to heal, though, it seemingly needed to be in close proximity to other pieces, and despite being segmented, Hulk was still able to move the separate parts of his body. Love-Interests *Betty Ross *Angela Lipscombe *Susan Jacobson *Sally *Carla (former high school crush) Trivia *He is of French descent. *Hulk's identity is publicly known. *He has claimed that his favorite animal is dogs. *He was ranked as 9th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes, and was also ranked as 4th in The Top 50 Avengers. *The Hulk was originally colored gray, but the gamma in his body made his skin-tone change to green. He has, however, changed back to the color gray on numerous occasions. *The Initiative and Mr. Fantastic have stated that Hulk is a Omega Level Threat. Nick Fury also has him as a Power Level 10+, as the Merged Hulk he was described as part of the Omega-class entities by Doctor Octopus. *Bruce is considered one of the smartest heroes in Marvel Comics, alongside Mr. Fantastic, Black Panther, Blue Marvel, Iron Man, Beast, Ant-Man, and Amadeus Cho. 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